When asked over the weekend if he follows NASCAR, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney responded in a way that only Mitt Romney can: “Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners."

Some of these friends may have contributed to Romney’s presidential campaign this cycle, according to our analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics.*

Twenty of the 23 individual donors giving $100,000 or more in January to the Mitt Romney-aligned super PAC also donated to Romney’s campaign committee in 2011, essentially evading federal contribution limits to support the candidate of their choice.

Public Campaign Action Fund (PCAF) announced today that in response to news that Stephen Colbert has relinquished control of his super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, to Jon Stewart, and has set up an exploratory committee to run for President of the United States of South Carolina, the watchdog group has sought legal assistance to explore creating an exploratory super PAC of its own to oppose Stephen Colbert’s exploratory committee.

This week the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a brief in federal court seeking to overturn a 1908 law (yes, 1908!) that banned corporations from giving directly to candidates. The RNC claims that due to the recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v.

Facing critiicism about his corporate raiding through Bain Capital, Mitt Romney was asked on Wednesday, “are there no fair questions about the distribution of wealth without it being seen as envy, though?” He said in response that, “I think it’s fine to talk about those things in quiet rooms and discussions about tax policy and the like.”